Card processing system with adaptable card transport delay

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods where a delay time between a first card processing mechanism, such as a drop-on-demand printer that prints with UV curable ink, and a second card processing mechanism, such as a UV curing station, can be altered to adjust the travel time of the card from the first card processing mechanism to the second card processing mechanism. First and second card buffers can be provided between the first card processing mechanism and the second card processing mechanism. Each of the first and second card buffers is independently logically controlled to permit independent control of the transport time of a card through each card buffer. Alternatively, a single card buffer or more than two card buffers can be provided between the first card processing mechanism and the second card processing mechanism.

FIELD

This disclosure relates to card processing systems that process plasticcards including, but not limited to, financial (e.g., credit, debit, orthe like) cards, driver's licenses, national identification cards,business identification cards, gift cards, and other plastic cards, andto transporting cards in such card processing systems.

BACKGROUND

The use of drop-on-demand (DOD) inkjet printing using ultra-violet (UV)curable ink to print on plastic cards is known. After printing, the inkneeds to be cured by exposure to UV light. The time from print to cure,referred to as the cure delay time, will have a major effect on theresulting print quality and ink behavior. The cure delay time, whichnormally ranges anywhere from 0.5 to 2.00 seconds, can vary depending onthe surface energy of the media or substrate the UV curable ink isapplied to, ink surface energy, and ink type. Common practice in theplastic card printing industry is to adjust the distance between theprint head(s) and the UV curing station to achieve the optimum curedelay time.

SUMMARY

Systems and methods are described where a delay time between a firstcard processing mechanism and a second card processing mechanism can bealtered to adjust the travel time of the card from the first cardprocessing mechanism to the second card processing mechanism. In oneembodiment, first and second card buffers are provided between the firstcard processing mechanism and the second card processing mechanism. Eachof the first and second card buffers has a card transport mechanismdefining a card transport path. The transport paths are colinear witheach other and colinear with the card transport paths of the first cardprocessing mechanism and the second card processing mechanism. Each ofthe first and second card buffers is independently logically controlledto permit independent control of the transport time of a card througheach card buffer. In other embodiments, a single card buffer or morethan two card buffers can be provided between the first card processingmechanism and the second card processing mechanism.

The first and second card processing mechanisms described herein can beany card processing mechanisms where it may be desired to adjustablycontrol the card transport times from the first card processingmechanism to the second card processing mechanism without having tomechanically adjust the physical distance between the two cardprocessing mechanisms each time that the card transport time needs to bemodified. In one embodiment, the first card processing mechanism is aDOD inkjet printer that prints using UV curable ink, and the second cardprocessing mechanism is a UV curing station that contains a UV lamp forcuring the UV curable ink. In this embodiment, the cure delay time (i.e.the time between completion of printing using the UV curable ink andwhen the card reaches the UV curing station) can be controlled bysuitable control of the transport mechanisms of the first and secondcard buffers. This eliminates the need to mechanically adjust thedistance between the printer and the UV curing station when the curedelay time needs to be adjusted.

However, the first and second card processing mechanisms can be othermechanisms that can perform processing operations on the cards. Forexample, the first and second card processing mechanisms can be anycombination of at least two of: a printer, an embosser, an indenter, amagnetic stripe read/write head(s), an integrated circuit chipprogrammer, a laser that performs laser processing such as laser markingon the cards, a laminator that applies a laminate to a portion of or theentire surface of the cards, a topcoat station that applies a topcoat toa portion of or the entire surface of the cards, a quality controlstation that checks the quality of the personalization/processingapplied to the cards, a security station that applies a securityfeature, such as a holographic foil patch, to the cards, and other cardprocessing mechanisms.

The cards described herein include, but are not limited to, plasticcards which bear personalized data unique to the intended cardholderand/or which bear other card information. Examples of plastic cards caninclude, but are not limited to, financial (e.g., credit, debit, or thelike) cards, driver's licenses, national identification cards, businessidentification cards, gift cards, and other plastic cards.

DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic depiction of a card processing system describedherein.

FIG. 2 is a schematic depiction of another embodiment of a cardprocessing system described herein.

FIG. 3 is a schematic depiction of still another embodiment of a cardprocessing system described herein.

FIG. 4 is a top view of one example of a card processing systemdescribed herein.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example card printing method described herein.

FIG. 6 is a top view of a plastic card.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a card processing system 10 that canutilize the systems and methods described herein. The card processingsystem 10 includes a first card processing mechanism 12, a first cardbuffer 14, a second card buffer 16, and a second card processingmechanism 18. A direction of card transport (or card flow) through thesystem 10 is illustrated by the arrow 20. The system 10 is designed toprocess plastic cards that are input into the system 10. The plasticcards described herein include, but are not limited to, plastic cardswhich bear personalized data unique to the intended cardholder and/orwhich bear other card information. Examples of plastic cards caninclude, but are not limited to, financial (e.g., credit, debit, or thelike) cards, driver's licenses, national identification cards, businessidentification cards, gift cards, and other plastic cards. Referring toFIG. 6, in one embodiment, the plastic card can be an ID-1 card 100 asdefined by ISO/IEC 7810, with a length L_(c) of about 85.60 mm (about 3⅜inches) and a width W_(c) of about 53.98 mm (about 2⅛ inches), and fourrounded corners each with a radius of between about 2.88-3.48 mm.

Returning to FIG. 1, the operations of the first and second cardprocessing mechanisms 12, 18 are controlled by a suitable controller 22.Each of the card processing mechanisms 12, 18 includes a mechanical cardtransport mechanism that transports plastic cards through eachprocessing mechanism 12, 18 in the card transport direction 20. Themechanical card transport mechanisms can have any suitable mechanicalconstruction known in the art for transporting plastic cards, such astransport rollers and/or transport belts (with tabs and/or without tabs)and/or carriages and combinations thereof. Mechanical card transportmechanisms are well known in the art including those disclosed in U.S.Pat. Nos. 6,902,107, 5,837,991, 6,131,817, and 4,995,501 and U.S.Published Application No. 2007/0187870, each of which is incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety. A person of ordinary skill in theart would readily understand the type(s) of card transport mechanismsthat could be used, as well as the construction and operation of suchcard transport mechanisms.

Each of the first and second card buffers 14, 16 also includes amechanical card transport mechanism. The mechanical card transportmechanisms of the card buffers 14, 16 can have any suitable constructionknown in the art for transporting plastic cards, such as transportrollers and/or transport belts, preferably by engaging the edges of thecards so that the transport mechanism does not contact the front or backsurfaces of the cards. In one embodiment, each of the card buffers 14,16 contains only a single card at any moment in time during operation.For example, as one card is input into the first card buffer 14, asecond card is exiting the first card buffer 14 into the second cardbuffer 16 while a card that was in the second card buffer 16 is outputinto the second card processing mechanism 18.

The first and second card buffers 14, 16 are each configured tocontrollably transport the cards in the card transport direction 20. Thecard buffers 14, 16 do not contain any card processing capabilities anddo not perform a processing operation on the cards. Rather, the cardbuffers 14, 16 can each be controlled to alter the transport times ofthe cards therethrough, thereby controlling the transport times of thecards from the first card processing mechanism 12 to the second cardprocessing mechanism 18. Although the two card buffers 14, 16 areillustrated, more than two card buffers can be used or a single cardbuffer can be used.

Each card buffer 14, 16 is independently logically controlled wherebythe transport mechanism of the card buffer 14 and its corresponding cardtransport time therethrough can be independently controlled from thetransport mechanism and its corresponding card transport time of thecard buffer 16, as well as controlled independently and separately fromthe transport mechanisms of the card processing mechanisms 12, 18. Inparticular, referring to FIG. 1, the first card buffer 14 can becontrolled by a first logic control 24 and the second card buffer 16 canbe controlled by a second logic control 26. The logic controls 24, 26can both be control logic stored in suitable storage of the controller22, or the logic controls 24, 26 can be stored in a controller separatefrom the controller 22. The logic controls 24, 26 can have any specificconfiguration and reside at any location so long as the transportmechanisms of the card buffers 14, 16 can be independently andseparately controlled from one another, and independently and separatelycontrolled from the processing mechanisms 12, 18. In one embodiment, acard can basically pass through one of or each of the card buffers 14,16 without stopping. In another embodiment, a card can be temporarilystopped or “parked” in one of or each of the card buffers 14, 16 for apredetermined time period before being transported downstream.

The first and second card processing mechanisms 12, 18 described hereincan be any card processing mechanisms where it may be desired toadjustably control the card transport times from the first cardprocessing mechanism 12 to the second card processing mechanism 18 usinga card buffer without having to mechanically adjust the physicaldistance between the two card processing mechanisms each time that thecard transport time needs to be modified. For example, the first andsecond card processing mechanisms 12, 18 can be any combination of atleast two of: a printer, an embosser, an indenter, a magnetic striperead/write head(s), an integrated circuit chip programmer, a laser thatperforms laser processing such as laser marking on the cards, alaminator that applies a laminate to a portion of or the entire surfaceof the cards, a topcoat station that applies a topcoat to a portion ofor the entire surface of the cards, a quality control station thatchecks the quality of the personalization/processing applied to thecards, a security station that applies a security feature, such as aholographic foil patch, to the cards, and other card processingmechanisms.

In one embodiment described further below with respect to FIG. 4, thefirst card processing mechanism 12 can be a DOD inkjet printer thatprints using UV curable ink, and the second card processing mechanism 18can be a UV curing station that contains a UV lamp for curing the UVcurable ink that is applied to the plastic cards in the DOD inkjetprinter. In this embodiment, the cure delay time (i.e. the time betweencompletion of printing using the UV curable ink and when the cardreaches the UV curing station) can be controlled by controlling thetransport times of the cards as they are transported through the firstand second card buffers 14, 16. This eliminates the need to mechanicallyadjust the distance between the printer and the UV curing station whenthe cure delay time needs to be adjusted.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, in some embodiments the system 10 can be usedwith one or more other card processing mechanisms (also referred to ascard processing modules or card processing stations). For example, oneor more additional card processing mechanisms 30 can be located upstreamof the system 10. Examples of the upstream card processing mechanism(s)30 can include, but are not limited to, one or more of a card inputhopper containing cards to be processed, a printing system, an embossingsystem, an indenting system, a magnetic stripe reading/writing system,an integrated circuit chip programming system that can program a singlecard at any one time or can simultaneously program a plurality of cards,a laser system that performs laser processing such as laser marking onthe cards, a laminating system that applies a laminate to a portion ofor the entire surface of the cards, a topcoat system that applies atopcoat to a portion of or the entire surface of the cards, a securitysystem that applies a security feature, such as a holographic foilpatch, to the cards, and other systems known in the art.

One or more additional card processing mechanisms 32 can also be locateddownstream of the system 10. Examples of the downstream card processingmechanism(s) 32 can include, but are not limited to, one or more of acard output hopper containing cards that have been processed, a printingsystem, an embossing system, an indenting system, a magnetic stripereading/writing system, an integrated circuit chip programming systemthat can program a single card at any one time or can simultaneouslyprogram a plurality of cards, a laser system that performs laserprocessing such as laser marking on the cards, a laminating system thatapplies a laminate to a portion of or the entire surface of the cards, atopcoat system that applies a topcoat to a portion of or the entiresurface of the cards, a security system that applies a security feature,such as a holographic foil patch, to the cards, and other systems knownin the art.

FIG. 2 illustrates another embodiment of a card processing system 40that can utilize the systems and methods described herein. The cardprocessing system 40 includes the first card processing mechanism 12, acard buffer 42, and the second card processing mechanism 18, andoptionally the additional card processing mechanisms 30, 32. The cardtransport direction is illustrated by the arrow 20. In this embodiment,instead of using at least two card buffers as in FIG. 1, the single cardbuffer 42 is used. The card buffer 42 can have a construction andfunction identical to the card buffers 14, 16 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 illustrates another embodiment of a card processing system 50that can utilize the systems and methods described herein. The cardprocessing system 50 includes the first card processing mechanism 12, acard buffer 52, and the second card processing mechanism 18, andoptionally the additional card processing mechanisms 30, 32. The cardtransport direction is illustrated by the arrow 20. In this embodiment,the single card buffer 52 is used, with the card buffer 52 beingintegrated into the first card processing mechanism 12. The card buffer52 can have a construction and function identical to the card buffers14, 16 in FIG. 1, with the card buffer 52 being independently andseparately controlled from the first card processing mechanism 12. Inanother embodiment, rather than incorporating the card buffer 52 intothe first card processing mechanism 12, the card buffer 52 can insteadbe incorporated into the second card processing mechanism 18.

Turning to FIG. 4, a specific example of the card processing system 10from FIG. 1 is illustrated. For sake of convenience, the controller 22and the logic controls 24, 26 of FIG. 1 are not shown in FIG. 4. In theexample in FIG. 4, the card processing mechanism 12 is illustrated asincluding a DOD inkjet printer that prints using UV curable ink. Theinkjet printer can have a single printhead that prints a single color,or as illustrated can include a plurality of printheads 60 to printmultiple colors on the cards. Cards enter the card processing mechanism12 via a card input 62. In this example, each card enters the card input12 in a vertical orientation (i.e. the plane of the card extendsvertically into and out of the paper as seen from the top view in FIG.4) and each card is then rotated to a horizontal orientation via asuitable rotation mechanism 64 known in the art. The cards aretransported by a mechanical card transport mechanism 66 in thehorizontal orientation while in the card processing mechanism 12. Thecard transport mechanism 66 transports a card past the printhead(s) 60of the inkjet printer for printing on the card, and then transports thecard to a card output 68. An example of the card transport mechanism 66that can be used is described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No.2018/0326763.

Still referring to FIG. 4, the first card buffer 14 is locatedimmediately adjacent to the card processing mechanism 12 at the cardoutput 68. The card that is discharged through the card output 68 entersthe first card buffer 14 where the card is received by the cardtransport mechanism 70 of the card buffer 14 with the card remaining inthe horizontal orientation. In the example illustrated in FIG. 4, thecard transport mechanism 70 comprises a series of transport rollers 72a, 72 b disposed on opposite sides of the card transport path and thatengage side edges of the card to transport the card in the cardtransport direction. The first card buffer 14 has a length L_(B1) thatis slightly greater than the length L_(C) of the card (seen in FIG. 6)whereby only one card at a time can be accommodated in the card buffer14.

Still referring to FIG. 4, the second card buffer 16 is locatedimmediately adjacent to the first card buffer 14 at an output of thefirst card buffer 14. The card that is discharged through the cardoutput of the first card buffer 14 enters the second card buffer 16where the card is received by a card transport mechanism 74 of the cardbuffer 16 with the card remaining in the horizontal orientation. Thesecond card buffer 16 can be similar in construction to the first cardbuffer 14, in that the card transport mechanism 74 of the second cardbuffer 16 comprises a series of transport rollers 76 a, 76 b disposed onopposite sides of the card transport path and that engage side edges ofthe card to transport the card in the card transport direction. Thesecond card buffer 16 can have a length L_(B2) that is identical to thelength L_(B1) of the first card buffer 14 and slightly greater than thelength L_(C) of the card (seen in FIG. 6) whereby only one card at atime can be accommodated in the card buffer 16.

Still referring to FIG. 4, the second card processing mechanism 18 isillustrated as including a UV curing station 78 that cures UV inkapplied to the card. The UV curing station 78 includes a UV lamp (notshown) that applies UV radiation to the card to cure the UV ink. Thesecond card processing mechanism 18 is located immediately adjacent tothe second card buffer 16 at an output of the second card buffer 16. Thecard that is discharged through the card output of the second cardbuffer 16 is received by the card transport mechanism 80 of the secondcard processing mechanism 18 with the card remaining in the horizontalorientation. The DOD inkjet printer used in the card processingmechanism 12 and the UV curing station 78 of the card processingmechanism 18 can be conventional mechanisms well known in the art. Anexample of a DOD inkjet printer and a UV curing station in a cardprinting system is the Persomaster card personalization system availablefrom Atlantic Zeiser GmbH of Emmingen, Germany.

After curing, the card is transported to a rotation mechanism 82 whichrotates the card back to a vertical orientation for further processingdownstream of the second card processing mechanism 18 or the card can bedirected into an output hopper. The rotation mechanism 82 can be similarin construction and operation to the rotation mechanism 64 describedabove.

Example Implementation

For this example, it is assumed that each of the first card processingmechanism 12, the first card buffer 14, the second card buffer 16 andthe second card processing mechanism 18 is considered a logicalsubsection that are each separately logically controlled, with eachlogical subsection having its own card transport mechanism. In addition,it is assumed that the first card processing mechanism 12 includes theDOD inkjet printer that prints UV curable ink, and that the second cardprocessing mechanism 18 includes the UV curing station. For thisexample, each subsection is assumed to be capable of processing cards ata processing rate of 4000 cards/hour (0.90 seconds/card), with thesystem having an overall processing rate of 4000 cards/hour.

After the card has been printed by the DOD inkjet printer, the transportmechanism of the processing mechanism 12 transfers the card to the firstcard buffer 14 with the card remaining in the card buffer 14 for apredetermined amount of time. At the end of that predetermined amount oftime, the card is then transferred to the second card buffer 16 wherethe card remains for another predetermined amount of time. At the end ofthat predetermined amount of time, the card is then transferred to thesecond card processing mechanism 18 and the UV curing station 78. Thepredetermined amounts of time that the card waits in the card buffers14, 16 can be the same or different than one another. In addition, thepredetermined amounts of time can be changed using the logic controls24, 26 to adjust the delay times to desired amounts. The system willdetermine how much time each card will spend in each card buffer 14, 16based on factors such as the desired cure delay time and the system cardthroughput.

For example:

Assume a desired card throughput is =4000 cards/hour=0.90 seconds/card.

Assume the desired cure delay time=2.00 seconds.

Assume there is a fixed enter/exit time=0.20 seconds. Enter/exit timerefers to the total approximate time that it takes for a card to entereach mechanism or card buffer (approximately 0.1 seconds) and to exiteach mechanism or card buffer (approximately 0.1 seconds).

Based on these assumptions, the number of card buffers to be used isdetermined by =(Cure Delay−Fix Enter/Exit Time)/Systemthroughput=(2.00−0.20)/0.90=2 card buffers.

Both card buffers 14, 16 can be used independently as illustrated, orthey can be combined into a single card buffer. When the two cardbuffers 14, 16 are used independently, the system can achieve a curedelay time of approximately 2.0 seconds at a processing rate of about4000 cards per hour. The time spent in each card buffer is dependent on,for example, the desired card processing rate measured in cards perhour.

Referring back to FIG. 4, if the cure delay time needs to be increased,for example to between about 2 to about 3 seconds, an exit portion 88 ofthe card transport mechanism of the first card processing mechanism 12could be used as an additional card buffer similar to the constructionillustrated in FIG. 3. This could be achieved without making anymechanical changes to the system 10, but would reduce the cardthroughput, for example to about 3500 cards/hour, of the system 10.Alternatively, an additional card buffer(s) similar in construction tothe card buffers 14, 16 could be added between the first card processingmechanism 12 and the second card processing mechanism 18.

In addition, if a shorter cure delay time is desired, for example a curedelay time between about 0.20 to about 0.45 seconds, the exit portion 88of the card transport mechanism of the first card processing mechanism12 could act as a card buffer and the UV curing station 78 (or aseparate UV curing station) could be moved to the location of andreplace the card buffer 14 as indicated in FIG. 4. In this embodiment,the second buffer 16 and the second card processing mechanism 18 couldbe removed.

FIG. 5 illustrates a method 90 involving the example implementation ofthe system 10 where the first card processing mechanism 12 includes theDOD inkjet printer that prints UV curable ink, and that the second cardprocessing mechanism 18 includes the UV curing station 78 as shown inFIG. 4. In the method 90, UV ink is printed onto a plastic card in astep 92 using the DOD inkjet printer. After printing, in step 94 theprinted card is then input into a first card buffer (such as the cardbuffer 14) and the printed card is held in the card buffer for apredetermined period of time. At the end of the predetermined period oftime, in step 96, the printed card can then optionally be input into asecond card buffer (such as the card buffer 16) and the printed card isheld in the second card buffer for another predetermined period of time.Alternatively, if the second delay provided by the second card buffer isnot required, the printed card can be transported immediately throughthe second card buffer to the UV curing station. In step 98, the printedcard is then input into the UV curing station and the UV ink is cured.The card can then be output from the UV curing station for furtherprocessing or output to an output hopper.

In the described systems and methods, the buffer time(s) of the cardbuffer(s) can be changed without mechanically adjusting a physicaldistance between the first and second card processing mechanisms 12, 18.Therefore, the cure delay time (i.e. the amount of time a card spends inthe card buffer(s)) can be adjusted without having a significant impacton the card throughput rate. For example, the card transport mechanismsof the card buffer(s) can be controlled so that each card can basicallypass through the card buffer(s) without stopping. Alternatively, thecard transport mechanism of the card buffer(s) can be controlled so thateach card can be temporarily stopped or “parked” in the card buffer(s)for a predetermined time period before being transported downstream. Forexample, the buffer time(s) can be changed at a desired point during asingle card production run where the buffer time for a first card in thecard production run can be different than the buffer time for a secondcard in the card production run. The second buffer time of the secondcard can be greater than or less than the first buffer time of the firstcard in that single card production run. In the past, if a buffer timeneeded to be changed to achieve the optimum cure delay time during acard production run, the card production run would be terminated (or atthe least interrupted) and the distance between the print head(s) andthe UV curing station mechanically adjusted. However, interruptingoperation of the system in this manner significantly decreases the cardthroughput rate.

The systems and mechanisms described herein can be part of a centralissuance card system that is often room sized, configured with multiplepersonalization/processing stations or modules simultaneously performingdifferent personalization/processing tasks on cards, and that isgenerally configured to process multiple cards at once in relativelyhigh processing volumes (for example, on the order of hundreds orthousands per hour). An example of a central issuance system is the MXand MPR line of card issuance systems available from Entrust DatacardCorporation of Shakopee, Minn. Central issuance systems are described inU.S. Pat. Nos. 6,902,107, 5,588,763, 5,451,037, and 5,266,781 which areincorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

The examples disclosed in this application are to be considered in allrespects as illustrative and not limitative. The scope of the inventionis indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoingdescription; and all changes which come within the meaning and range ofequivalency of the claims are intended to be embraced therein.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A card processing system, comprising: afirst card processing mechanism that is configured to perform aprocessing operation on a plastic card, the first card processingmechanism includes a first mechanical card transport mechanism that isconfigured to transport plastic cards along a first card travel paththrough the first card processing mechanism; a second card processingmechanism that is configured to perform a processing operation on aplastic card, the second card processing mechanism is located downstreamof the first card processing mechanism and includes a second mechanicalcard transport mechanism that is configured to transport plastic cardsalong a second card travel path through the second card processingmechanism; and first and second card buffers disposed between the firstcard processing mechanism and the second card processing mechanism, eachof the first and second card buffers includes a mechanical cardtransport mechanism that is configured to transport a plastic card alonga card travel path, the mechanical card transport mechanism of the firstcard buffer is independently logically controlled from the mechanicalcard transport mechanism of the second card buffer.
 2. The cardprocessing system of claim 1, wherein the first card processingmechanism is a drop-on-demand printer that prints with ultra-violet (UV)curable ink, and the second card processing mechanism is a UV curingstation that contains a UV lamp.
 3. The card processing system of claim2, wherein the drop-on-demand printer includes at least one printheadand a transport section located between the at least one printhead and acard exit of the first card processing mechanism, and the transportsection is controlled to act as a card buffer.
 4. The card processingsystem of claim 2, wherein the first card buffer is part of the firstcard processing mechanism.
 5. The card processing system of claim 1,wherein the card travel paths of the first and second card buffers arecolinear with each other and are colinear with the first card travelpath and the second card travel path.
 6. The card processing system ofclaim 1, wherein each of the first and second card buffers areconfigured to contain a single plastic card at any moment in time duringoperation.
 7. The card processing system of claim 1, wherein each of thefirst card processing mechanism and the second card processing mechanismhas a card processing rate, and a time that a plastic card spends ineach of the first and second card buffers is adjustable.
 8. The cardprocessing system of claim 1, wherein the first and second card buffersare independent and separately logically controlled from one another,whereby a first plastic card traveling through the first and second cardbuffers has a first buffer time, and a second plastic card that followsthe first plastic card in sequence and that travels through the firstand second card buffers has a second buffer time, and the second buffertime is greater than or less than the first buffer time.
 9. A cardprocessing system, comprising: a drop-on-demand printer that prints withultra-violet (UV) curable ink, the drop-on-demand printer includes amechanical card transport mechanism that transports plastic cards alonga card travel path through the drop-on-demand printer; a UV curingstation that contains a UV lamp, the UV curing station is locateddownstream of the drop-on-demand printer and includes a mechanical cardtransport mechanism that transports plastic cards along a card travelpath through the UV curing station; at least one card buffer disposedbetween the drop-on-demand printer and the UV curing station, the atleast one card buffer includes a mechanical card transport mechanismthat transports a plastic card along a card travel path, the card travelpath of the at least one card buffer is colinear with the card travelpath through the drop-on-demand printer and colinear with the cardtravel path through the UV curing station, the at least one card bufferis configured to contain a single plastic card at any moment in timeduring operation.
 10. The card processing system of claim 9, comprisingat least two of the card buffers disposed between the drop-on-demandprinter and the UV curing station.
 11. The card processing system ofclaim 9, wherein the at least one card buffer is part of thedrop-on-demand printer.
 12. The card processing system of claim 9,wherein the drop-on-demand printer and the UV curing station each has acard processing rate, and a time that the card spends in the at leastone card buffer is adjustable.